Hello, I'm In New York
by ZebraDolphin
Summary: Short one shot, song fic. Eli leaves for NYU. Clare and Eli never really had the best timing or much luck, does that change? There are 2 versions of the same idea in this, they are different and one is more realistic. Future Fic
1. Version 1

**Authors Note : This is just a short song fic, one shot thing. I really wanted to try to write one and after seeing KC leaving I had to hold my tears as I thought about how Eli would also end up leaving. I had to write something and I didn't feel like writing my other story and then this song played and so I needed to write a one shot to it. Sorry if it's bad, I don't really care much and I did this in only and hour, so yeah...Enjoy? Maybe?**

**Sorry for any mistakes there might be, I took only an hour of my time to do this and I didn't proof read, hopefully it won't stop you from understanding the story**

**Disclaimer : I don not own degrassi nor the song "Hello, I'm in Delaware" by City and Colour (Dallas Green) Which I suggest you listen to before reading, or during, your choice, you can even do it after, but listen to it for sure :D**

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**Hello, I'm in New York**

* * *

_**So there goes my life,**_

_**Passing by with every exit sign.**_

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_**Clare's POV past**_

_Eli and I were taking a cab to the airport. We had spent all summer together and now it had finally come to an end, it came crashing down on us. He was leaving, leaving to NYU and I could do nothing about it. I loved him with all my heart and I couldn't just beg him to put his dreams on hold for me. Definitely not after all the hurt I had caused him, after I had ripped his heart out and stomped on it, it wasn't fair. I loved him too much to ask him to stay; I know it would break his heart if I asked him to, because I know he deeply wants to be with me and at the same time he can't, our timing just never seems to be working out right for us. _

_I held his hand tightly as my head lay on his shoulder and I watched the signs outside pass us, signs directing to the airport, the airport where I would say good bye to him. Tears fell out of my eyes already and I brushed them away, not wanting to cry. I needed to be strong for him because he had always been strong for me, he was always my rock, and now it was my turn to take on that role._

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_**"It's been so long,**__**  
**__**Sometimes I wonder how I will stay strong.**__**  
**__**No sleep tonight,**__**  
**__**I'll keep on driving these dark highway lines.**__**  
**__**And as the moon fades,**__**  
**__**One moment gone, only twenty more days."**_

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_**Clare's POV present**_

My hands were tightly gripped on the steering wheel as I drove. I knew it would take long with all the stops I'd make along the way. I knew it was a spontaneous decision filled with love and longing, I also knew it was crazy and reckless because I had no idea how he would react. However I had to do this. I promised myself 6 years ago that I'd see him again and now I was making it happen, for myself. I didn't have enough money for a plane ticket and I wasn't planning on depending on my parents nor on my friends, this was a decision that I had made alone and I wanted to continue with it on my own, independent. I saw the signs pass, the signs that told me where I was headed and I loved to see the number of kilometers becoming shorter and less intimidating as I drove through the night and days that seemed to take longer than I had wished they would.

I smiled to myself as I could see his face, but the smile quickly faded as I remembered that we hadn't spoken in five years and that we hadn't seen each other in 6. How would he react to me just appearing in New York, unannounced? How would I react to seeing him after 6 years of not being able to look into his green eyes? What would I say to him? I shook the thoughts away, I had twenty more days to figure it all out and right now I just needed to drive and concentrate.

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"_**But I will see you again,**__**  
**__**I will see you again,**__**  
**__**a long time from now."**_

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_**Clare's POV past**_

_Eli and I stood at the entrance of the Toronto airport, our hands each holding the others in a death grip, I didn't want to let go, I didn't want to enter the sliding doors because then it would all be real. Much more real than it was when we were laying in the sun, more real than when we were sharing small kisses on the sandy beaches at sunset. Definitely way more real than when we finally figured out our relationship and had our dates to look forward to on weekends. _

_The summer had passed us by at light speed and now he was going to leave, he would be thousands of miles away and I wouldn't be able to kiss him, hold him, we wouldn't be Eli and Clare anymore, we wouldn't share a life. We wouldn't get to share anything anymore because I knew I was staying here in Toronto and he was going to be there, all the way over there in another country, in New York._

_I leaned into him as we took the first steps into the place that would separate us. We got his baggage checked and got his flight ticket._

"_**And there goes my life,**__**  
**__**Passing by with every departing flight."**_

_I sat there in his lap for what felt like only seconds before he told me he had to go, his flight was soon and he had to go through security. Tears stung my eyes, a lump formed in my throat as we got up and I clung to him. My arms were wound around his waist, my face buried in his chest as tears ran freely down my cheeks, staining them. Eli held on even tighter, the side of his face pressed in my curls, I knew he was crying also. _

_Both of us sobbing into the other, gripping with all our might on to the others body, neither of us wanted to let go, we had finally gotten good, finally had an amazing relationship and now it was being taken away from us because we had grown up and it was time for a future and sadly that future wouldn't involve one another because we would be at opposite sides of the world, doing different things and living different lives. _

_We finally pulled back from the embrace to have a final good bye kiss, I had put as much passion into it as I could muster up in that moment, it was needy and desperate yet it was a kiss that was filled with pure love for one another. We pulled away and didn't share one single word to each other because we couldn't find our voices, everything we had to say was in that kiss and in the look on our tear stained faces. As he walked away he looked back one final time to give me a sad smirk and a small wave and as I couldn't see him anymore I broke down, I fell into a chair nearby and cried until no more tears fell and my throat hurt. We hadn't said that we were broken up, but we knew we were, I knew the moment he got accepted into NYU and it just now hit me, and it hit me hard._

_I wiped my tears away and told myself, that one day I'd see him again, I knew we'd have to see one another again, no matter how far away that moment was going to be._

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_** And it's been so hard,**__**  
**__**So much time so far apart.**__**  
**__**And she walks the night.**__**  
**__**How many hearts will die tonight?**__**  
**__**And will things have changed?**__**  
**__**I guess I'll find out in seventeen days.**_

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_**Eli's POV present**_

Spring break was soon, very soon. In seventeen days I would get onto the first flight to Toronto. I hadn't seen her in 6 years and we hadn't even talked in 5 of those. It had become too hard to continue any sort of relationship/friendship because we were heartbroken yet head over heels for each other. However we knew we couldn't be together, she was staying in Toronto and I, New York. It was hard, but we knew it was over before I left, we just didn't act upon until I was thousands of miles away. I had such difficulty talking to her about anything because all I wanted to do was see her smile, kiss her lips, get lost in her eyes, but I had to move on and hearing her voice just didn't let me do that, and it was the same for her, so we grew apart, we stopped talking, we stopped emailing. The only link we had to each other was Adam, he talked to the both of us and so he told me about Clare and told Clare about me. It was fine that way.

Now though, I had to see her, 6 years was long enough, we were older now, we could start a family, we could be together, figure something out. Which is why I was flying out to Toronto in seventeen days. Seventeen days until I got to see those pretty blue eyes of hers, seventeen days until I could see her smile and hold her and maybe even kiss her. Only seventeen days, but it was seventeen days too long.

* * *

"_**But I will see you again,**__**  
**__**I will see you again,**__**  
**__**a long time from now."**_

* * *

_**Eli's POV past**_

_I had my last phone call with Clare only moments ago, we had agreed to stop all contact because it hurt too much, but now I thought it was the wrong thing to do since I was hurting even more now. Tears were falling out of my eyes, I was trying to hold them in and stop crying over the love of my life, but I couldn't. I missed her voice already and I missed her touch. I needed to see her again, but we were miles apart. Thousands of miles and we had school and futures to attend to, I couldn't just quit now and I couldn't just stop everything in my life for her. It was mutual and I would be okay. Yet there was this gaping hole in my chest, my heart was missing, I had left it with her and as much as that sounded cheesy, it was so true._

_I promised myself that one day I'd see her again, no matter how long it took to get to that moment, I'd definitely see her again._

_**Eli's POV present**_

Seventeen days was up, I was finally here, I hadn't told her of my plans, I wanted to surprise her. I took a cab to the address that Adam had given me, he told me she lived with Alli.

I knocked on the door and Alli quickly answered. Her eyes widened so much as she saw me. Her jaw dropped and suddenly she was mad.

"What are you doing here?!" She screamed at me and hit my arm. I didn't understand one bit, maybe Clare had gotten a boyfriend and Alli didn't want me to interfere, although Adam didn't mention Clare having a boyfriend, but she could easily have been keeping that information to herself. I felt like a complete moron, of course Clare would move on, she's beautiful, intelligent and so much more.

"Sorry, I'll just go then, please don't tell Clare I stopped by when she comes back from her date or wherever she is." I was about to turn around and walk away but my phone rang suddenly and I answered quickly, just wanting to get off the phone, back in a cab and go back home to New York.

_**Clare's POV present**_

I got to New York, suddenly remembering I had no idea where to go, I called Adam but he didn't answer so I knew I had to call Eli. This would sort of ruin the surprise, but I couldn't just drive aimlessly around the city. I dialed my favourite number in the world, I knew it by heart for years and I would never forget it. He answered sounding sad yet rushed.

"Hello?" He said, a tone of impatient in his voice. But that didn't stop me.

"Hello, I'm in New York." I said, happily.

"Why are you in New York?" He asked sounding amused and a little confused.

"I'm here for you of course; I just need to know where you are, so we could meet up." Silence "If you want." I added in a rush, I didn't know what to expect from him sometimes.

"Of course I want to Clare. It's just uh..." It's just he was busy and probably had a girlfriend, who he loved and who wasn't me. Of course he moved on, we hadn't spoken in five years, he had the right to even if it hurt me. He was so sweet and smart and just perfect, any girl would be lucky to have him.

"I get it, sorry, I just thought...Never mind, it was childish and impulsive, I should just-" but before I could continue my rant Eli interrupted me.

"Clare, I'm in Toronto, for you. I wanted to see you. I wanted to talk to you. I miss you."

I laughed at the situation and he soon joined in. We laughed together at how ridiculous this all was.

"Clare?" His tone became serious now and I braced myself for the worst.

"I'm coming back home, stay there, I'll be back by tonight." He then proceeded to tell me his address and tell me where the key was hidden. We said a small see you later and I went to his apartment, framed pictures of us were all over the place, he had never forgotten and never got over us, just like I hadn't, and it all meant the world to me.

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**I hope that wasn't too bad... There's more to the song, another verse and the chorus twice more, but I didn't really want to add that because it didn't really work with how I wanted to end it. I hope you enjoyed it :) I've never written a song fic or one shot before, reviews are greatly appreciated and THANK YOU for reading I LOVE YOU ALL! :D**


	2. Version 2

**Authors Note : This isn't a chapter 2, I apologize to those who thought and wished it was. I had decided to re-write the whole one shot to see if I could make it better and more realistic, and since I didn't really want to delete my first version since some of you liked it I simply added it like it was a second chapter. I like this one much more :D Sorry for any mistakes there might be, enjoy :D It is still inspired by the song "Hello I'm in Delaware" by City and Colour (Dallas Green)**

**Disclaimer : I don't own Degrassi, nor the song this fic is inspired by :D**

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I can't believe summer is already over. It seemed like only a few days passed. Yet it was two months, two months of trying to make the best out of every second we had together. We spent two months knowing he was leaving and even if I had a whole year with him, I still wouldn't be prepared for this moment. The typical airport goodbye moment, wherein I cry and kiss him passionately. I knew it was coming, I've been dreading it since he got accepted, I cried over it already, and we talked about everything. We both knew we were ending, both of us we're going to take different paths in our lives and since we were unsure of them crossing we were breaking up. It was mutual but it was unwanted by both our hearts. We didn't want to end, we had just begun.

I sat there in the cab with him, holding his hand in a tight grip and snuggling into his side. I was desperately trying to keep the tears from falling and I succeeded by looking out the window. I was watching the signs pass by, the kilometers of distance on each one becoming smaller, telling me we we're getting close to the building that would take my love away from me and send him off to New York. I hated the fact that what he was passionate about had to take him far away from me. I despised that I didn't want to go New York yet, I liked Toronto and I had a scholarship and an opportunity awaiting me. I loathed that I fell so deeply in love with him only months before he was leaving. Never the less I was proud of him and so very happy for him that he got accepted and he could live his dream.

We got to the airport and I didn't let go of Eli's hand for one moment, not as we got out of the cab and not as he got his luggage. I didn't want to have one second without his warm hand in mine. I didn't want this to be then end; I had just gotten him back. We sat outside the area where he'd enter soon; I didn't want to leave his warm embrace, I didn't want to watch him as he slowly walked away from me. I knew it was selfish that I wanted him to stay here and not go to NYU, but I couldn't stop the thought from entering my mind, although I did stop it from escaping my lips and begging him to stay. It was hard for him to leave me too, I wasn't about to make it more difficult.

Soon it was his time to go, his flight was leaving in 40 minutes and he still had to get through security. We stood up and the moment our feet were on the ground and we were standing straight, I threw myself into his arms, burying my head into his chest as my tears wet his shirt. His arms were wound around my waist and gripping tightly onto me, he was also crying, his cheek pressed in my curls, and I could feel the tears falling from him.

Neither one of us wanted to let go, I was choking on my sobs as Eli was trying to collect himself to be strong for me, I didn't think it was fair, but I couldn't find the strength to stop my tears and try to console him, he was the one who needed me to stay strong.

We untangled ourselves from the embrace and I knew he had to leave if he wanted to make his flight. We stared into each other's eyes, green colliding with blue. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for our last kiss, our goodbye kiss. The moment our lips touched I mustered up as much passion as I could in that moment, all the love I felt towards this man was poured into that one kiss, it was desperate and needy but it was the most loving kiss one could have shared. I had my fingers tangled in his hair as his hands were pushing on my lower back, molding my body into his. We reluctantly pulled away, not saying a word as he started to walk away.

No words needed to be shared because everything was said in that one kiss; everything we wanted to say to one another was said in our tears, our eyes, our embraces and our kiss. I watched as he walked further from me and before turning the corner he turned to me, gave me a small wave with a sad smirk on his lips, I returned it slightly and the moment he was out of sight I broke down.

I slumped into a chair near me, my head in my hands as the sobs escaped my lips. I cried until there were no more tears to be shed, until my throat hurt and my head pounded. We had broken up, we didn't share the words, but we both knew it, we knew ever since he got accepted to NYU. However it only just hit me, and it hit me hard, enough to leave my heart crushed, feeling like it got run over by an eighteen wheeler.

* * *

**2 years passed**

I couldn't stop myself, I tried, and it hurt me every time I did this, but I just couldn't help it. I dialed his number and waited as it rung. He picked up soon after, his voice groggily answered.

"Hello?" I stayed silent, and he knew. He knew it was me; I've been doing this for the past year. When he left we stayed in contact for a while, but then it got hard, too hard for us to keep talking. What was harder though was not hearing his voice, I thought it would be easy, but it wasn't, so I started calling and not talking, he caught on fairly quick, I imagine he knew my number by heart, or he simply didn't delete me from his contacts. And even though he knew it was me he never said my name or said anything but hello.

We both stayed silent, listening to one another breathing, we usually stayed like this for a minute or two, not talking, only silent moments, silent phone calls.

Today though I knew I needed to end these, I needed to stop calling him simply to hear him say hello. I took in a deep breath and for the first time, I spoke.

"Goodbye." I hung up, tears falling from my eyes. I knew he'd understand that I would not call him anymore; I knew that he wouldn't call either, although some part of me wished he would.

* * *

**6 years passed**

"Adam you can't tell him. Please swear to me." Adam was never good at keeping secrets, but I was hoping he would, just this once.

"Clare, I swear I won't say anything, I know that this means a lot to you and I'm telling you I won't speak a word of this to him." I was placing all my trust on Adam, and I was hoping he wouldn't make me regret it. I hugged him goodbye and told him I'd see him again before leaving for good and walked into airport security, giving Adam a wave and a warning look which he laughed to. I grinned at him before turning around and going through metal detectors.

I had finished looking at some apartments near the office and I was now walking towards the address Adam had scribbled onto a piece of paper. I walked down streets, loving the feeling of the city. I was hoping it wouldn't be a problem, me showing up after 6 years of not seeing each other and 5 years of no contact except for those silent calls during the second year. Adam had told me he didn't have a girlfriend and that it would probably be the best surprise, but I was still skeptic. As I trudged down the last road watching the numbers on the apartments getting closer to the one in my hands I got nervous, my hands shook, my heart thumped faster and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I wasn't going to stop now though, I was already here. I rang the small doorbell since I couldn't find the strength to knock, but a minute later I was still standing outside, he wasn't here.

As I turned around, thinking I would go back something caught my eye. It was the small ceramic frog I had given him, it was meant to hold a spare key in its mouth, under the tongue. I clicked a small button that lifted the tongue and there, inside the frog was a key. I took it in my hand and unlocked his door. I felt somewhat like a stalker ex girlfriend but I knew he wouldn't take it that way. I walked inside and was instantly engulfed in his familiar smell, even if he moved hundreds of thousands of miles away he could still smell like himself and make anything around him smell like him too. I sighed contently and a small smile formed on my lips.

I walked around the apartment; it looked exactly how I would have imagined it. There were multiple book cases and papers were scattered on the coffee table, they were clearly being graded, he was a professor after all. It was clean, yet it wasn't so clean that you wouldn't think someone was living there. I walked into the bedroom, it wasn't completely black like I thought it would have been, only the ceiling. On the bedside table was a picture frame, it had both of his parents, Adam and himself. I took it in my hands to examine it and when I put it back I had accidentally made a pen fall. I bent down to pick it up and as I was lifting my head I noticed a box under his bed.

I'm not a snoop, I'm just curious, I know it's wrong, but who wouldn't want to open a box when said box was found under a bed. I sat on the couch in the living room, the box in front of me, I contemplated putting it back where it was and pretending to not have ever seen it but I couldn't stop myself. I lifted the lid and as if on cue our first time meeting one another invaded my thoughts. I had a similar box at home; it held all of the memories we had together and once it's opened you can't help but let them flood your mind.

I looked through the pictures of he and I, concert tickets, Palahniuk tickets from our first ever date together, movie tickets, receipts, the glasses he ran over, hotel room card keys from a road trip we went on, coasters from a bar we went to with fake ID's, egg shells from the first breakfast in bed I ever gave him, a mix CD I made him of all the songs that remind me of him, candles from the first time we made love together, everything was coming back to me and for once I didn't cry because of it. I smiled as more memories that came into my mind.

Suddenly a car that I assumed was his pulled up, I took my phone out of my pocket and called him. I didn't want to just be here surprising him; I wanted to tell him I was in New York first. He stopped after getting out of his car, answering my phone call.

"Hello?" His voice spoke, almost making me crack then and there; it had been 4 years since I heard that voice speak.

"Hello I'm in New York." I said in a quick jumble of words.

"Clare?" I smiled at the way my name rolled off his tongue.

"Yeah, it's me, and I'm in New York." I couldn't keep the smile from my lips; he was just outside the door. I could see him, he was also smiling.

"Until when?" He asked me.

"Until the New York Times decided to fire me." His jaw fell and I almost laughed at the sight.

"You got a job at the New York Times?! That's amazing Clare!" I chuckled at his enthusiasm, reminding me of myself when I heard the news.

"I guess it is, it hasn't really sunk in yet." He laughed at my response and it made me weak at the knees, his laugh was melodic and I was always in love with it.

"Wait, so are you moving here?" I could hear the hope in his voice.

"Yes, there are still things to figure out, like where to live, and all of that, but yeah, I'm moving here. Right now I'm just visiting, looking at apartments, but in two weeks I have to be settled in and ready to work."

"Well, we have to meet up, we need to celebrate this new job, this news is fantastic Clare. What are you doing right now?" I grinned; he wanted to spend time with me.

"Nothing at the moment." I said almost laughing because I was just watching him from inside his apartment, which was quite creepy when I thought about it.

"Where are you staying I'll come pick you up and we can go to a place I'm sure you'll love."

"That sounds great, I'm just staying at some four star hotel not far from the city."

"What's it called? I'll be right there, I've just got to drop some stuff off at home." Eli starts to walk towards the door, I can hear his keys jangling as he starts to unlock the door.

"It's called -" Suddenly a siren goes off and my voice is drowned out. Eli walks in, not looking up and closes the door, I stand there, leaning on the door frame and he doesn't even notice. I take in his appearance, he still has the rings on his hands and the chain around his neck, his hair is a tad longer than before but I like it. He has on a gray button down shirt and some black slacks, his tie is loosely hanging around his neck and his jacket is slung over his arm.

"Sorry, Clare can you repeat that? There was a siren going on outside, I didn't hear you." I hung up the phone and smile at him as he looks down at his phone confused.

"I said it's called hotel Eli." He looks up at me, his green eyes wide, a grin spreads on his face, mimicking mine, and we stand there staring at each other. I wasn't sure why but my feet wouldn't move, I stood there, yet all I wanted to do was run and hug him, kiss him, all I wanted was his touch, his warm hands in mine and around me. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair and caress his face, yet I couldn't even take a step towards him and apparently neither could he. We both stood in front of one another, doing nothing, saying nothing, it was as if this was another silent phone call, the difference being this time one of us could make a move, we could take the other in our arms, and apparently Eli thought the same.

He took long strides towards me and the moment he arrived in front of me he took my face in his hands and crashed our lips together. It was needy, desperate, passionate and filled with love; our lips bruised each other's, our tongues battled against one another, we kissed as if we were making up for all the time apart. We were both breathless, my legs were wrapped around his waist as I was pushed up against the wall, we only stopped to breathe but we were never broken apart for more than three seconds.

Eli finally pulled away from me so that I could stand, our foreheads were touching and we swallowed each other's breaths. I had my hand on his cheek and he leaned into it as I drew small shapes with my thumb.

"Hi." I squeaked out, he smiled and laughed lightly.

"Hi." He replied back and it was my turn to chuckle at our lack of ability to string words together in a sentence.

"Move in with me." He suddenly said, catching me off guard. I blinked a few times trying to collect my thoughts. Had he really just asked me to move in with me? Or rather told me to?

"Eli..." I hesitated a bit and he cut in.

"No, Clare, listen, I love you, and living without you for the past six years has been hell. I love my job and my life here, it's a dream come true, but without you to share it with made it much harder to appreciate. I missed you every day. Every night for the second year here I found myself waiting on your call just to listen to your breathing. All I wanted to do was have you here with me, I thought about going back to Toronto, but my life is here, and now that you have a life here too I don't want to be away from you longer than I have to. Clare, please, move in with me."

"You didn't have to give me a whole sales pitch Eli, you had me at I love you." We smiled at one another until he leaned down to capture my lips in a kiss; this one was much gentler and slow than the others, because for once since I told him I was all in we had all the time in the world. There was no NYU taking him away, we were going to live together, we had a future ahead of us and it would be spent with one another. I was, for once, completely all in because there was nothing stopping us.

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**Thank you for reading version 2 of Hello I'm In New York! :D Did you guys like it more or less?**

**Reviews are very much appreciated :D I love you all!**

**P.S : If any of you read 'The Girl Next Door' I will hopefully get it updated soon, I can't figure out what to write, or if there should be a huge time skip, I'm just not sure :S I will try updating it soon if I find what to write...**


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